U.S. patent number 10,398,045 [Application Number 14/849,803] was granted by the patent office on 2019-08-27 for pcb mounted security slot.
The grantee listed for this patent is Meir Avganim. Invention is credited to Meir Avganim.
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United States Patent |
10,398,045 |
Avganim |
August 27, 2019 |
PCB mounted security slot
Abstract
A portable communication or computing device with security
against theft, includes a PC mounted security slot which is
accessible through an outer wall via an access opening therein. The
security slot is defined in a rigid material which is either
soldered with pins or connected with screws to a printed circuit
board or the like inside the portable device. The security system
includes a detector for detecting any instance of the cable of the
lock associated with the security slot having been cut.
Inventors: |
Avganim; Meir (Gealya,
IL) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Avganim; Meir |
Gealya |
N/A |
IL |
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Family
ID: |
55456258 |
Appl.
No.: |
14/849,803 |
Filed: |
September 10, 2015 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20160081212 A1 |
Mar 17, 2016 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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62049414 |
Sep 12, 2014 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E05B
73/0082 (20130101); E05B 39/00 (20130101); G06F
1/1656 (20130101); E05B 73/0005 (20130101); H05K
5/0208 (20130101); E05B 41/00 (20130101); G06F
21/88 (20130101); G06F 1/1616 (20130101); E05B
45/005 (20130101); H05K 5/0221 (20130101); G06F
1/1613 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H05K
5/02 (20060101); E05B 73/00 (20060101); E05B
41/00 (20060101); E05B 39/00 (20060101); E05B
45/00 (20060101); G06F 1/16 (20060101); G06F
21/88 (20130101) |
Field of
Search: |
;361/679.57 ;70/58,439
;340/568.1,568.2 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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2180736 |
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Oct 1994 |
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CN |
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201274049 |
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Jul 2009 |
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CN |
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201433622 |
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Mar 2010 |
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CN |
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201810076 |
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Apr 2011 |
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CN |
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202736209 |
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Feb 2013 |
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CN |
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203321130 |
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Dec 2013 |
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CN |
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10 2006 032 733 |
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Jan 2008 |
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DE |
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0 747 555 |
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Dec 1996 |
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EP |
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Other References
International Search Report dated Jan. 18, 2016 issued in
connection with corresponding PCT/IB2015/001949. cited by applicant
.
Notification Concerning Transmittal of International Preliminary
Report on Patentability, dated May 12, 2016 with accompanying
Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority. cited by
applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Thaker; Nidhi
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Ostrolenk Faber LLP
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
The present application claims benefit of and priority to U.S.
Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/049,414 filed Sep. 12, 2014
entitled PCB MOUNTED SECURITY SLOT, the contents of which are
incorporated herein by reference.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A portable electronic device with a locking system, comprising:
an outer wall defining a housing of said portable electronic
device, said outer wall including an access opening into an
interior of said housing; a printed circuit board securely anchored
to said housing of said portable electronic device; a security
locking component in the form of a lock opening defined in a
material slab, said lock opening being configured to receive a
locking head of a lock system, said material slab comprising a
metal flange with a front wall in which said opening is defined;
and wherein said security locking component is physically anchored
to the printed circuit board in the housing of the portable
electronic device, and wherein said material slab is sufficiently
sturdy to receive and hold said locking head of said lock system
anchored to said printed circuit board via said security locking
component without said access opening provided at said outer wall
of said housing, and wherein said access opening is registered with
and located directly adjacent to the lock opening, so as to enable
passage of the locking head to the lock opening.
2. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein said lock
opening is formed as a cavity in said material slab.
3. The portable electronic device of claim 2, wherein said cavity
is a dead ended cavity.
4. The portable electronic device of claim 3, wherein said cavity
is trapezoid shaped within.
5. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein said lock
opening is formed as a through going opening is said material
slab.
6. The portable electronic device of claim 5, wherein said lock
opening is rectangular and measures about 3.times.7 mm in width and
length, respectively.
7. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein said material
slab is configured to damage said printed circuit board when a
pulling force of greater than a predetermined value is exerted on
said locking head.
8. The portable electronic device of claim 1, including at least
one electrical node on said printed circuit board which is
electrically coupled to and associated with said lock system.
9. The portable electronic device of claim 8, wherein said lock
system includes a lock cable with an electrical wire extending in
said cable and said electrical node is electrically coupled to said
electrical wire in a manner that enables circuitry located on said
printed circuit board to determine whether said electrical wire has
been severed based on a state of an electrical property at said
electrical mode.
10. The portable electronic device of claim 9, wherein the
electrical wire forms a continuous closed circuit when the locking
head is in a locking position within the lock opening, and wherein
the electrical property at the electrical node is configured such
that unauthorized disruption of the closed circuit effects at least
one of triggering of an alarm and disabling of the portable
electronic device.
11. The portable electronic device of claim 10, wherein an
application program (AP) is installed in the portable electronic
device which runs in a background mode, wherein upon insertion of
the locking head in the lock opening a request is presented to the
user on a screen of the portable electronic device to enter a
password that the portable electronic device is to be operationally
locked, whereby with such locking initiation cutting of the cable
is immediately detected by the AP and a prompt appears on the
screen that a password be entered to enable continued operation of
the portable electronic device and if such password is not entered
the portable electronic device remains inoperable.
12. The portable electronic device of claim 11, wherein the AP
allows the otherwise inoperable portable electronic device to
connect to a central controlling server, to prove ownership of the
portable electronic device, with proper ownership being shown
enabling the portable electronic device to resume its normal
operation.
13. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the portable
electronic device is one of a mobile smart phone, a laptop
computer, a desktop computer and a tablet computer.
14. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein said access
opening has a shape complementary to a shape and orientation of
said lock opening.
15. A portable electronic device with a locking system, comprising:
a printed circuit board securely anchored to a housing of said
portable electronic device; a security kicking component in the
form of a lock opening defined in a material slab, said lock
opening being configured to receive a locking head of a lock
system; and wherein said security locking component is physically
anchored to the printed circuit board in the housing of the
portable electronic device, in a manner that is sufficiently sturdy
to receive and hold said locking head of said lock system anchored
to said printed circuit board via said security locking component,
and wherein the housing comprises an access opening that is
registered with and located directly adjacent to the lock opening,
so as to enable passage of the locking head to the lock opening,
wherein said security locking component is anchored to said printed
circuit board by at least one of screws and bolts.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to devices for hindering the theft of
relatively small, but expensive pieces of equipment.
Computers have evolved from large, expensive machines used only by
a few, to relatively small, portable, handheld machines which are
usable by many. Nowadays, more and more of the computers and
portable devices are in the form of laptops, tablets, mobile
telephones and the like, all of which pack significant processing
power and are capable of performing tasks and store information
which, decades ago, required a roomful of computers. At the same
time, these highly portable electronic devices carry a steep price
tag, on the order of several hundreds of dollars for a device such
as the Apple iPhone.TM. smartphone and similar devices.
A variety of devices have been developed to inhibit the theft of
these portable devices and the common expedient has been to provide
these devices with a security slot through which a locking element
of a lock can be passed and which lock is also provided with a long
cable of a few feet that has a loop at the end and which enables
the highly portable mobile devices to be tethered to an immovable
object.
The art of computer security has improved tremendously over the
years and a large body of prior art documents including issued
patents have become available. Representative prior art includes
U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,820,127; 8,739,583; 8,307,675; 7,562,547;
7,549,308; 7,441,426; 7,249,474; 7,201,029; 7,028,513; and
6,244,082. The entire contents of the aforementioned list of
patents are incorporated by reference herein.
The instant inventor has come to the realization that further
improvements can be obtained to solve a remaining, vexing, unsolved
problem. The sizes of computing have become ever smaller. Mobile
phones are on the order of about 10 millimeters thick and just a
few centimeters in width and length. Consequently, the locks have
become smaller and the cables by which these devices are tethered
to immovable objects have become thinner. The ever continuing quest
to reduce the sizes has also resulted the walls of these portable
devices becoming quite thin. Therefore, the security slots which
are defined in very thin walls, often made of plastic, have been
weakened and this has enabled removing the lock with a strong hand
pull or by twisting it, breaking the outer wall of the computing
device without undermining its functionality.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide improved
security devices, systems and methods for mobile devices.
It is a further of object of the invention to provide a locking
system for highly mobile and extremely compact communication and
computing devices that provide protection against the cable of the
lock being cut.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide security slots
in computing devices that provide very strong and sturdy and not
easily broken security slot.
The foregoing and other objects of the invention are realized by a
portable electronic device with a locking system, comprising: a
printed circuit board securely anchored to a housing of said
electronic device; a security locking component in the form of a
lock opening defined in a material slab, said lock opening being
configured to receive a locking head of a lock system; and wherein
said locking component is physically anchored to the printed
circuit board in the housing of the electronic device.
The housing may comprise an access opening that is registered with
the lock opening, so as to enable passage of the locking head to
the lock opening. The material slab may be in the shape of a metal
flange in which said lock opening is defined. The lock opening may
be formed as a cavity in said material slab. The cavity may be a
dead ended cavity. The cavity may be trapezoid shaped within. The
lock opening may be formed as a through going opening is said
material slab. The lock opening may be rectangular and measures
about 3.times.7 mm in width and length, respectively.
The material slab may be configured to damage said printed circuit
board when a pulling force of greater than a predetermined value is
exerted on said locking head. The portable electronic device may
include at least one electrical node on the printed circuit board
which is electrically coupled to and associated with said lock
system. The lock system may include a lock cable with an electrical
wire extending in said cable and the electrical node is
electrically coupled to the electrical wire in a manner that
enables circuitry located on said printed circuit board to
determine whether said electrical wire has been severed based on a
state of an electrical property at said electrical mode.
The electronic device may be one of a mobile smart phone, a laptop
computer, a desktop computer and a tablet computer. The electrical
wire preferably forms a continuous closed circuit when the locking
head is in a locking position within the lock opening, and the
electrical property at the electrical node is configured such that
unauthorized disruption of the closed circuit effects at least one
of triggering of an alarm and disabling of the electronic device.
An application program (AP) may be installed in the electronic
device that runs in a background mode, wherein upon insertion of
the locking head in the lock opening a request is presented to the
user on a screen of the electronic device to enter a password that
the computer device is to be operationally locked, whereby with
such locking initiation cutting of the cable is immediately
detected by the AP and a prompt appears on the screen that a
password be entered to enable continued operation of the electronic
device and if such password is not entered the electronic device
remains inoperable. AP allows the otherwise inoperable electronic
device to connect to a central controlling server, to prove
ownership of the electronic device, with proper ownership being
shown enabling the electronic device to resume its normal
operation.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become
apparent from the following description of the invention which
refers to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1A through 1E show prior art locking devices and systems.
FIGS. 2 through FIG. 5 also show prior art computing and
communication devices features.
FIG. 6 shows a security slot construction in accordance with a
first embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 7 shows a security slot in accordance with another embodiment
of the invention.
FIG. 8 shows another aspect of the present invention.
FIG. 9 shows a circuit arrangement for the embodiment of FIG.
8.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
Prior art FIG. 1A depicts an electronic device, e.g., a keyboard 2,
with a security slot (not shown) to which is attached a locking
system 10 that includes a lock 20, a cable 12 connected to the lock
20 with the cable 12 having at the distal end a loop 14 through
which the lock can be threaded. Thereby, the loop cable can be
threaded through an immobile device, for example, an armrest of a
chair, in well known manner. The lock 20 is cylindrically shaped
and has a forward body part 22 and a rear body part 26 with a cover
24 that is rotatable relative to the body part 22. The cable 12
penetrates into an opening 36 of a collar 34 which rotates on the
rear body part 26 in well known manner. A screw 32, or equivalent,
connects the two housing parts to each other.
Most importantly, at the front face 28 is provided a locking
element which comprises a T-bar style locking element that has a
cross locking tab or head 30 attached to a shaft 31, rotatable by
means of a key (to be described) and including anti-rotation pins
29a, 29b, all in well known manner. The security slot 40 (FIG. 1E)
is defined in the wall 42 of the portable device and is constructed
to receive the locking elements of the lock 20, including the
anti-rotation pins 29a, 29b and the lock head 30 which is initially
aligned with anti-rotation pins, so that it can be inserted in the
slot (FIG. 1C) and thereafter rotated to the position in FIG. 1D,
effecting the locking operation via a keying operation shown at 21
in FIG. 1D.
In another prior art construction (FIG. 2), the cable 12 is
inserted through an opening 36 into a header 34, which is received
in a slot in a lock 50, defined in the block 54 and which has pins
52, 53 which can be inserted in security slots A and B in the wall
42 of a computing or mobile device. Note the locking pin 56 which
can be inserted into the hole C and which cannot be retracted,
except with a key (not shown)
In FIG. 3, a generic mobile device 4 might consist of a single
panel with the top surface being a glass cover and being used as a
telephone or it might be a two-part computing device with a top 5
which is hingedly connected at 8 to a bottom 6. Regardless, a
plurality of connection ports 7 may be provided. Most
significantly, the security slot 40 is also shown.
Inside the computer device 4 there is typically to be found a
bottom wall or base 60 on which are placed or to which are
connected one or more printed circuit boards (PCBs), for example, a
circuit board 62 and another circuit board 64. The circuit board 70
has a plurality of integrated circuits (ICs), for example, 62a and
62b, and the circuit board itself is connected by means of screws
or other hardware 66 very firmly to the base or bottom wall below,
providing a very strong, sturdy connection. Similarly, the second
circuit board 64 may have integrated circuits 64a, 64b. Most
significantly, these ICs are connected by pins 70 which are either
soldered or otherwise very firmly attached to the circuit board.
The circuit boards 62, 64 will not budge and any attempt to move
them will destroy the entire device. The circuit board 64 is shown
in perspective, including the connection hardware 66 in FIG. 5.
In accordance with the present invention, FIG. 6 illustrates a
portion of the printed circuit board (PCB) 64 having attached
thereto a rigid material slab, preferably a metal flange or partial
housing with a front wall 80 made of sufficiently thick and strong
material 86 that has defined therein a security slot 82 located
adjacent the security slot 42a of the outer wall 42. Neither the
PCB 64, nor the housing 80 will move, particularly when anchored as
any circuit component with pins 70 and/or additional screws/bolts
hardware 84, as shown. When the locking head 30 is inserted through
the outer wall 42 of the computing device and through the security
slot 82 and anchored therein, no amount of pulling will enable
withdrawal of the locking system 10 of the present invention,
without causing unacceptable damage. Attempts to dislodge the
locking head 30 might damage and render inoperable the entire
computing device. In addition, the two pins 70 in FIG. 6 might
provide a signal path which is disrupted when attempts to shake or
break the housing 86 are engaged in. The front wall 80 may have a
portion thereof in which the slot 82 is defined within the space of
the security slot 42a.
It is not necessary to have the precise security slot shape, as in
FIG. 6. As is well known in the art, some security slots are
defined in a cylindrical body 90, which has locking balls 92 and
which similarly can be connected by a plurality of pins to the
printed circuit board 64 of FIG. 6. Thereby, a locking element may
be inserted through the opening 94 and a locking operation provided
thereby. As would be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill, the
security slot herein can have the shape and construction of other
known security slots or any security slot whatsoever. The invention
is applicable to trapezoidal security slots, as in the present
applicant's pending patent application, or in security slots formed
of several openings, which openings can be of any geometrical
shape, depth, size and construction.
Referring to FIG. 8, a further development of the invention
provides in the lock 100 that has the anti-rotation pins 29a, 29b
and rotatable locking head 30, a pair of electrical conduits 102,
104, which extend from the lock 100 through the entire cable 12 to
the very distal end thereof 106, where the free ends are joined to
one another. At the other end, the electrical conduit 104 is
connected to the shaft of the rotatable lock element 30 while the
other conduit 102 is connected to the anti-rotation pin 29a or to
another pin which is spring biased out of the body 100, as shown at
106.
Referring to FIG. 9, the locking system also provides on the
printed circuit board or within the lock housing 86/110, 5 volt
source 114 which provides a 5 volt signal to resistor 112, the end
of which resistor 112 is connected to a spring biased pin 118. The
housing 110 also has a ground 116 connected to another component
117. When the lock 100 (of FIG. 8) is inserted through the slot,
its head 30 engages the spring biased pin 118. At the same time,
the conduit 102 engages the pin 29a, which, when inserted, makes an
electrical contact with the ground pin 116. Effectively, the
resistor node 120 becomes connected to the ground 116 when the lock
is inserted, providing a signal 122 to the control 130, which
provides that low ground signal to the CPU 140, which runs an AP
program 150. Importantly, if someone cuts the cable or attempts to
break the lock, the voltage at the outlet 122 is restored to a high
signal of 5 volts, notifying the CPU that the cable has been
broken.
The AP (application program) 150 is a simple program that runs in
the background of the computing device which may have the following
features that are easily programmable therein. When a person's
computing device is on, and the AP 150 is launched, nothing will
happen initially. However, when the lock 100 is inserted, the user
is prompted to enter a password (or press an icon button) that the
computer device is to be locked. At the same time, a software flag
is set, indicating this condition. If someone cuts the cable 12,
this is immediately detected by the AP and the operator is prompted
to enter a password to enable continued operation at the computing
device. If that person is unable to enter that code, the internal
registers of the computer are reset, rendering the computer device
entirely inoperable. The AP may allow the computer to connect to a
central server, to prove ownership of the device, enabling one to
reset the machine to allow its normal operation. Many other ways of
controlling the device to prevent tampering therewith can be
realized by one of ordinary skill in the art, based on the instant
disclosure.
In addition to rendering the device inoperable or alternatively the
AP may be configured to utilize audio elements of the computing
device to trigger an alarm of timed duration which can only be shut
off with the entry of a predetermined password (as used herein all
passwords to provide enumerated functions are predetermined). In a
further embodiment, particularly if the computing device embodies a
transmitting function (e.g., a smart phone), the AP may be
configured to utilize the transmitting element of the computing
device to transmit a notification, ideally in real time, to the
owner/user (having a separate receiver or to any other designated
receiver) that the device is being compromised.
Although the present invention has been described in relation to
particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and
modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled
in the art. It is preferred, therefore, that the present invention
be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the
appended claims.
* * * * *